A liquid crystal display apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as an “LCD”) is an element that displays characters and images using electrooptical properties of liquid crystal molecules. As one of the driving modes of the LCD, there is a twisted nematic (TN) mode. Conventionally, an LCD of a TN mode has a disadvantage in that a viewing angle is narrow in a vertical direction, and has a problem in that the clarity of characters and images are remarkably degraded when a screen is viewed in an oblique direction. In order to solve this problem, for example, a liquid crystal display apparatus using a so-called O-plate and a biaxial retardation layer has been proposed (e.g. see Patent Document 1). However, in the conventional liquid crystal display apparatus with a liquid crystal panel, the disadvantage in that a viewing angle is narrow in a vertical direction is not sufficiently overcome. Particularly in the applications such as measuring instruments of automobiles and ships, displays for exhibition, and commercial touch panel displays, for users with various heights, the improvement is particularly demanded.
Patent Document 1: JP 2001-100031 A